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Dana 44 Fill plug too low???

J

Jimminyc

NAXJA Forum User
Location
GJ, Colorado
Just got my scout 44 in the rear of my xj and i really dont wanna burn up my outer bearings due to oil starvation. the bottom of the fill hole on the cover is about level with the bottom of my axle tubes. Im worried that i may need a new cover or to overfill the diff to get oil to the bearings.....So, I actually overfilled it so it now has about 3 qts in it. I jacked up one side and let the oil drain down into one tube so i could overfill it. will this be too much oil????? i want to drive without worrying!
 
well, i think it must have, i agree...but i still never figured out for sure if the scout outer bearings were lubed by axle grease...there was some sylacone around the shaft on each side of the carrier almost like there was supposed to be some kind of seal. But there is no machining on the shafts for a seal to ride on so....So, i assume it must have been lubed by gear oil and not just grease on the shafts. i guess im just second guessing myself. This project was a bigger job than i thought and i dont wanna screw it up now! :)

Just wondering, is the stock dana35 lubed by the diff oil? or by grease on the outer bearings?
 
buy an aftermarket diff cover, or get a diff cover from a High pinion dana 44, they have the fill plugs higher..
 
You want the lube about 1/4" deep in the tubes. If you can get close to that I would say your fine.
 
As sent from the factory, the Scout II rear axle had two (2) seals at the wheel bearings. There were both an inner (behind the bearing) and an outer seal. The axle was designed to have the bearings greased periodically, as a normal maintenece item. If you remove the innner seals, and make sure that the oil is roughly 1/4" into the tubes, then you will be fine. I ran the Scout rear D-44 for a very long time, with no bearing failures after I removed the inner seals.
 
Last edited:
You can "over fill" it, just make SURE that you remove the inner axle seals out behind the bearings at the wheel end, or all that oil will do no good. Oh, and make sure that the axle vent is NOT stopped up, or you will be changing seals VERY shortly.
 
Do the scout rear 44 axles have seals at the carrier? I know my jeep Dana 44 doesn't have seals until the backing plates at the axle ends.
 
it's simple. jack the axle up as high as you can while leaving the other end of the jeep on the ground. the higher you go, the more the axle will slightly get tilted back. that way you can get more oil in.
 
I am looking a a scout D44. What was the WMS to WMS on this axle? Did you hsvr you add spacers? It sounds like you have been successfull with this axle. I can get my hands on a complete for $75.00.
 
smsorensen said:
I am looking a a scout D44. What was the WMS to WMS on this axle? Did you hsvr you add spacers? It sounds like you have been successfull with this axle. I can get my hands on a complete for $75.00.
Click to expand...

If it is from a Scout II, it is 58" wms, and has big 11" drum brakes. I ran one for 2 years, and I used 1" spacers/converters to widen it out and convert to a 5 on 4.5 lug pattern (although I also had a disk conversion, so can't speak to brake reliability or function personally). If it is out of a Scout 800, it will be too narrow to get XJ spring pads on it...
 
well, i guess "successfullness" will come in the future if it holds up ok. but it did fit nicely. i did have to shorten my driveshaft though. had to change the brake lines. I also found 2" spacer converters for the lugs. now the back sits out even with the front. worked swell.
As far as the oil thing goes. Im just going to run it. not sure how to tell if the tubes are 1/4" full, but ive got oil to the top of the fill hole which looks a bit above the tubes. i also rotated the axle and pulled the vent which is on the tube and the shaft was covered in oil...leading me to believe that the oil is at least high enough to hit the shaft.
 
Jimminyc said:
Just got my scout 44 in the rear of my xj and i really dont wanna burn up my outer bearings due to oil starvation. the bottom of the fill hole on the cover is about level with the bottom of my axle tubes. Im worried that i may need a new cover or to overfill the diff to get oil to the bearings.....So, I actually overfilled it so it now has about 3 qts in it. I jacked up one side and let the oil drain down into one tube so i could overfill it. will this be too much oil????? i want to drive without worrying!
Click to expand...


If you got 3 quarts in it then you got plenty-o-fluid in there. Mine only held about 1.5 sitting flat.
 
Bender, to answer your question about the seals, No, the carreir does not have seals next to it, try and think of the wheel bearing out at the brake end of the axle as being the middle of a "seal sandwich" , with the constrution being retainer plate, seal, bearing and race, and then the inner seal. You want to remove the inner seal so that the oil from the center section can actually flow out to the bearing at the wheel, other wise you will have to pull the axlshaft once in a while to grease the wheel bearings. Been there, Forgot to pull the seal, AND/OR grease the bearings.... lost the whole 35" tire, brake drum AND axleshaft going down the interstate, becuase the bearing was not able to be lubed, and so burnt up, then came apart.
 
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